Machines such as haul trucks, loaders, dozers, motor graders, and other types of heavy machinery are used to perform a variety of tasks. During the performance of these tasks, the machines often operate in varying terrain, under erratic environmental conditions, in changing traffic situations, and with different sizes and types of loads. Because of the volatile conditions under which the machines operate, performance of a particular machine can vary greatly depending on the particular travel path followed by the machine at any given time. For example, a first potential travel path could allow for decreased fuel consumption of a particular haul truck, but also result in a longer or more congested trip. In contrast, if the same haul truck were to instead take a second potential travel path, the trip could be shorter, but also result in greater machine wear. Unfortunately, it may not always be easy for a human operator to properly plan a travel path that results in the accomplishment of a desired machine goal.
One attempt of improving travel path planning of a machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,574 (the '574 patent) issued to Diekhans on Oct. 3, 2000. In particular the '574 patent describes a route planning system for an agricultural vehicle. The route planning system includes an electronic data processing unit configured to receive field specific data (e.g., coordinates for field edges, field hindrances, digital land relief, type of crop, soil properties, etc.) and vehicle specific data (e.g., geometric dimensions, maximum speed, fuel tank capacity, fuel cost, travel track dimension, etc.), and to generate a work path for the vehicle based on the data. The route planning system is configured to generate the work path based on at least one optimization criterion (e.g., shortest route, fastest route, fuel efficient route, safest route, ground conservation, etc.), and to subsequently guide the work vehicle along the work path.
Although the system of the '574 patent may provide some help in route planning and machine guidance, it may be less than optimal. In particular, the goals for a particular machine may change periodically, and the system of the '574 patent may not be configured to accommodate those changes. In addition, the system of the '574 patent may limited to single-use, single-machine, agricultural applications.
The disclosed control system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.